CAO 101


OMAA, in partnership with Dr. Gordon McIntosh, has produced a CAO Profile meant to capture the essential competencies for aspiring, mid-career, and experienced CAOs. This profile is intended for self-assessment to be used as a reference as you progress through the different stages of your professional career. It contains five leadership capabilities with four key competencies in each as developed over a series of extensive interviews and workshops. This CAO Leader Profile may be used for Leadership Alignment, Self-Assessment, or as a Coaching Aid.  We hope you use it as a workbook as you progress through the various stages of your municipal career.


In OMAA’s efforts to promote professional management provided by CAOs and senior municipal managers, we are always on the lookout for materials and articles that support related messaging. The following articles/discussion papers relate to the role of the CAO:


Free papers from Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation


StrategyCorp's Annual CAO Survey

Since 2016, StrategyCorp has conducted a wide-ranging survey of municipal Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) from across Ontario to hear their views on the most pressing issues facing local governments today.